Chapter 11: Through Love Comes Understanding.
Queen Clarisse had just spent the entire afternoon and early evening with her granddaughter, Amelia. They had been to visit Phillippes grave where Clarisse had told Amelia anything she wanted to know about her father; she felt it was time to leave the past behind.
They had wandered the palace for hours talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. It was something they both felt compelled to do and seemed only to strengthen their relationship. Clarisse now held a deep respect for her granddaughter, something that only seemed to build the more she got to know her.
But now Clarisse was tired of walking and just wanted to rest. She had just bid Amelia goodnight and was now entering her own quarters for a good night's sleep. But there was one more person she had to see before she could rest.
"Joseph?" she whispered upon entering her sitting room. She couldn't see him anywhere but knew he must be there.
She heard a soft grunt so headed in the direction it was coming from. Rounding the edge of the couch, Clarisse smiled lovingly.
Joseph was lying on his side on the soft couch, fast asleep. She knelt down on the floor beside him, stroking his face gently as she murmured his name to wake him. Although she hated doing it, she knew he was there to be with her and he couldn't just sleep on her couch the entire night so she knew he must be woken.
"Joseph, my love, wake up darling…" she murmured, kissing his lips gently.
He stirred and opened his eyes. Seeing her kneeling in front of him, he sat up and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Sorry to wake you Joseph, but I knew you would be upset if I left you here without a goodnight kiss" she whispered playfully.
Kissing her soundly, he pulled her up onto the couch beside him. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes.
"How are you holding up Clarisse?" he asked simply.
"Well…rather well I believe. Both Amelia and Charlotte have been extremely helpful; they have both made it much easier for me. And I am very thankful for that but…" Clarisse drifted off.
"But what, sweetheart? You can tell me" Joseph prompted.
Looking into his face, Clarisse shuddered as fresh tears began to fall down her face.
"I just can't get his touch off me" she whispered, her voice breaking.
Wiping her tears away, Joseph cupped her face in his hands where he began to brush her lips softly with his. Moving his hands from her face, he ran them down her neck, over her shoulders and down to the centre of her back where he pressed her closer to him. Kissing her even harder he tried to will all thought of the man from both their minds.
Pulling back from each other again, Clarisse gave Joseph a weak smile.
"Did that help?" Joseph asked quietly.
"Yes it did" she replied thankfully, glad he was such a wonderful man.
Smiling back at her, Joseph lifted her hands to his face where he began to brush his lips over her palms, the back of her hands and then her wounded wrists. Closing her eyes, Clarisse leaned back on the couch as he continued to kiss her sore wrists before he moved up her arms and neck.
Tilting her head, she allowed him to kiss away all the pain from her neck and face. She loved having his touch all over her and found that it really was erasing all remaining feelings of the horrid man in black.
As his mouth found hers again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, showing how thankful she was to have him with her.
After a moment they pulled away to breathe where they gazed into each other's eyes.
"Stay with me Joseph, stay with me tonight" she demanded more than asked.
"Of course my love" was his short reply as they lay back on the couch holding each other where Clarisse rested her head against his chest.
Wrapping his arms around Clarisse, Joseph closed his eyes, now completely exhausted. He kissed the top of her head, as she half lay on him ready to spend the night there.
"I love you Joseph" Clarisse whispered up at him.
"I love you too Clarisse" Joseph murmured back.
Closing her eyes, Clarisse buried her face in Joseph's chest as she drifted off to sleep to the sound of his heart beat and deep breathing. They both fell into a deep peaceful sleep warmed by their shared love.
OoOo
Next morning as the pair slept in each other's arms through the rising of the sun, they were unaware of the approach of Charlotte. She entered the Queens quarters without so much as a knock for she had not expected anyone to be in the sitting room.
The young woman walked briskly through the room towards the queens sleeping quarters where she lifted her hand to knock on the door for permission to enter. But the knock never sounded for Charlotte had frozen at the sight before her eyes.
There on the couch in plain view was the Queen and Head of Security, Joseph, fast asleep in a loving embrace. The Queen's head was resting on Joe's chest and her arms were wrapped around his waist. Joe's arms were wrapped around the Queens shoulders holding her close as his face was buried in her hair. It was clearly something Charlotte was not supposed to have seen.
Suddenly beginning to panic, Charlotte retraced her steps to the door where she quietly slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her. Giving a sigh of relief, she went to the Queen's office to find some work to do, giving the pair she had just left more time to wake up. This was the second time she had walked in on them as they expressed their love together and had so far kept it from them. This was not something she planned on them finding out, so would remain silent at what she had witnessed.
OoOoOo
Joseph slowly opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of Charlotte fleeing the room. As Joseph blinked a couple of times, his brain finally registered what had just occurred. Closing his eyes again in defeat, he let out a groan, which awoke Clarisse.
"What's the matter Joseph? Was the couch too uncomfortable for you?" she murmured as she woke up fully and traced his lips with her fingers.
"I suppose we could have slept in the bed; that would have been much more proper," Clarisse added as Joseph opened his eyes and looked at her.
"No its not that my love. I slept beautifully and was very comfortable" Joseph reassured her.
Frowning she looked into his eyes and pushed herself further upright on his chest.
"Well what's wrong then?" she queried.
"I just saw Charlotte sneaking from the room. I'm afraid it looks as though she caught us sleeping" Joseph replied, his voice full of sympathy.
"Oh dear…" was all Clarisse could say.
Sitting upright and swinging his legs over onto the floor, Joseph pushed Clarisse up into a sitting position. They were both silent as they reflected upon what that revelation could mean.
"Well I suppose I better go talk to her about it and see where she stands about keeping 'us' silent" Clarisse finally said as she lent forward and kissed the half-asleep Joseph.
"But I must shower and dress for the new day before I go anywhere".
They both stood up and faced each other. Joseph placed his hands on her hips and looked into her eyes as she rested her hands on his chest.
"Thank you for staying with me last night Joseph, I really appreciated it. I now feel fully rested and the only person I feel on my skin is you" she whispered, leaning in towards him.
"Good" he replied smiling before kissing her quickly upon the forehead.
"I really must go Clarisse before someone else catches us. And that is the last thing we need or even want right now. So I'll see you later today and if not, then tonight" he promised as he slipped away from her and headed toward the door.
"Joseph?" Clarisse's quiet voice spoke from behind him.
"Yes?"
"I love you" she mouthed at him.
Kissing his fingers he blew the kiss to her before mouthing back to her.
"I love you too".
As Joseph left for his own quarters, Clarisse showered and dressed before going in search of Charlotte.
As Clarisse headed towards her office where she was told Charlotte would be, she silently prayed that Charlotte would be just as co-operative as Shades had been. The press would have a field day if they found out the Queen of Genovia was having an affair with her Head of Security.
Upon entering her office she found Charlotte bent over some papers at the assistants' desk, flicking through them so intently that she didn't seem to notice the entrance of her queen.
"Good morning Charlotte, sleep well?" Clarisse asked her approaching her own desk.
"Y-yes Your Majesty!" Charlotte stammered loudly as she blushed furiously.
Clarisse smiled at her sympathetically as she took her seat. Leaning back in her seat, she studied the young woman before her.
"Come here Charlotte" she spoke quietly but kindly.
Charlotte rose from her seat and walked timidly over to the queens' desk where she sat down before her.
"Joseph tells me that you came in search of me this morning. Is that correct?" Clarisse asked softly.
"Um, yes Your Majesty" Charlotte looked down at her feet shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
"And…did you find me?" Clarisse asked, now almost whispering, leaning forward toward Charlotte.
"N-No! I d-didn't!" Charlotte replied speaking unnecessarily loud.
Sighing, Clarisse gave the young woman before her a stern look.
"How many times must I tell you that you're not very good at lying, Charlotte?"
Blushing furiously, Charlotte squirmed in her seat, ashamed at being caught out. She mumbled something quietly that Clarisse didn't hear. Rising from her own seat Clarisse knelt down in front of Charlotte and placed her hands on the young woman's knees.
"Don't be embarrassed Charlotte. Yes you saw something that you weren't supposed to, but that doesn't mean I'm going to shut you away from the world to silence you" Clarisse smiled warmly as she reached up and lifted Charlottes chin with the tips of her fingers to look her in the eyes.
"You're not the first to find us out you know".
Charlotte looked surprised at that and couldn't help but ask "Who?"
"Shades" Clarisse replied simply, "he too seemed to fear for his life for he immediately swore to silence. It was rather a humorous moment actually," Clarisse said chuckling lightly, releasing Charlotte's chin.
Charlotte seemed stunned to hear her Queen so light hearted about such a revelation that she just sat and stared at her. Suddenly like she had just snapped out of her reverie, Charlotte sat up straight and looked dead ahead.
"I swear to keep what I witnessed earlier this morning silent!"
She sounded and looked so much like Shades had, that Clarisse couldn't help but laugh before reaching up and hugging Charlotte.
"Thank you Charlotte, for being so understanding. Are you sure you're ok with that?" Clarisse queried.
Pulling back, Charlotte gave Clarisse a genuine smile and nodded reassuringly.
"Good. Now then, is there anything you would like to ask or to say before we drop the topic?" Clarisse asked, making sure Charlotte was comfortable at what she had been asked.
"Well…if its not too bold to ask…how long? I mean how long have you and Joe been, well, romantically involved?"
"About two years. Since the time of the first incident with the horrible man by the lake, actually", Clarisse answered honestly.
"Two years…" Charlotte breathed.
"Yes. Well if that's all Charlotte then we better get onto this paperwork for it won't sort itself out" Clarisse prompted, now wanting to drop the topic.
"Yes of course Your Majesty!" Charlotte jumped up and they got down to business, forgetting the little revelation of the morning.
The day progressed as any other would and both Charlotte and Queen Clarisse fulfilled their duties. Charlotte didn't make any comment about the Queens relationship with Joseph for the remainder of the day and Clarisse began to feel confident that Charlotte would keep her promise.
Clarisse spent a good amount of the afternoon with Amelia before the princess took the plane back to San Francisco in the evening, ready for the new semester to begin. Although she was sorry to see her leave, Clarisse knew that they left off at a good place and that Amelia would always feel welcome to come back to stay when ever she wanted to. This pleased the Queen greatly.
Joseph kept his promise also, coming to see Clarisse later that night after Amelia had left. The couple stayed wrapped in each other's arms late into the night, talking of the events of the past week. They were both relaxed and at peace when they bid each other good night before retiring to their own sleeping quarters. Their love was truly blossoming and from that they had built an understanding of each other's needs as well as where their loyalties lay.
They both showed that through love comes understanding and that love is everlasting as it conquers all.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not boast, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.
A.N- Well that's it folks. For all of you who were wanting the hot saucy moment between Clarisse and Joseph, sorry to disappoint but as you should be able to tell by now, that is definitely not my style. This last chapter was a long time in coming because I just couldn't seem to write anything that would justify the story so far. So big thanks to all those reviews, because as you can tell, they inspired this chapter. I really do hope this chapter wasn't a let down; I tried really hard you know and it is past midnight already.
I can't list off each reviewer sorry because there were just so many of you that the list will be longer than this chapter itself! Well maybe I am over exaggerating a bit but that doesn't mean I love you all any less! Thank you all so very much for paying attention to wee little me down in wee little New Zealand, and a big thanks to the great reviews.
I must thank the readers who don't review also. Although I must admit I don't actually know if there were that many of them…but thanks anyway! For I did post this story for the benefit of others and not just myself.
If it isn't too much to ask, could all the readers and previous reviewers ALL put in a review or wee comment for me at the end of this chapter? I'd just like to get an idea of how many people were actually following this story. I'd really appreciate that, even if it's just your names.
Well now I must be off to sleep for its getting very late and I'm getting very tired. There are no plans for any more PD stories for now but I am working on a Harry Potter one. Plus I've just posted a HP one-shot that all you ADMM fans might want a look at. Its supposed to be funny, so please have a quick read and review if you have some spare time.
Well goodnight to you all and good luck with all your own stories. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Annette-Rose.
P.S. feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments you would like to make but don't want to put in the reviews. I'd love to have a chat!
